"You know, it's times like this that I wish I could fly," muttered Mirage. Pulling his gray cloak tighter around himself, the Blue Knight stared up at the small group's goal.
Argile, Onyl, and Rayn were standing just to his right. Argile wore a pair of dark tan pants, a white shirt, and a long black coat. Onyl had exchanged her old dress for a black pair of pants, shirt, and vest. Over it all she had on a black coat. Mirage found it amusing that she had taken to wearing her respective color. Rayn had on a white and red shirt, brown pants, and a dark green traveling cloak.
"The exercise will do us good, Mirage," said the Black Knight. "We cannot expect everything to be easy, now can we?"
Mirage grimaced at his friend and looked back at the statue head looming above them. The four of them were gathered somewhere inside the small mountain that was the Dragon Ruins. After ascending its inner levels for some time, they finally arrived at the bottom of a high ceilinged chamber. Roughly almost a hundred feet above them was a dragon's head statue protruding from the wall. Made from what Mirage could only guess was gold and silver, its maw hung open in a silent roar. From his vantage point, the pirate could also see its eye sockets glowing blue and black.
"Leave it to Ruby to make things difficult," he muttered.
Rayn walked around the stone walled chamber inspecting everything. The young dragon looked up and squinted, and then scratched his short, blue hair. "Looks like there are some openings above the statue," he said. "We could always go a couple more levels up and then climb down to the head."
Onyl, holding the group's torch, walked over to him. "Okay, boy genius, that's a good idea, but I see one problem." He looked up at her questioningly. "We have no rope."
Rayn grimaced. "I guess you're right, On."
Mirage paced back and forth for a moment before speaking again. "I think I have an idea." He touched his chest, and there was a blue flash. Garbed in his armor, the Blue Knight gauged the distance to the dragon head. "I think I can scale the wall using my powers."
"I'm afraid that will not be enough, Mirage," stated Argile. "Remember that they have to touch the auras to get them," he added with a gesture to the dragons. "You cannot just bring them down."
"All right," countered Mirage. "Then what do you suggest?"
A thin smile spread across the large man's face. He touched his own chest. After a black flash, he, too, wore his armor. "Although I do not always promote it, I believe some senseless violence is necessary."
Mirage stared at him for a second before understanding. "Ally Oop?" he said with a smile. Argile nodded.
Argile dropped to one knee and linked his hands in front of him. Mirage backed up until he was standing against the wall opposite his friend. The Blue Knight took a deep breath and charged Argile. At the last second he made a small hop towards Argile. Blue power started to crackle around the Dragon Knight, and he quickly drew his Scimitar and raised it over his head.
"Blue Dragon Leap!" he shouted just as Argile vaulted him into the air.
Like a blue fireball, Mirage sped up towards the dragon head. His ascent suddenly stopped and became a descent. He flashed past the head making a quick slash. The Blue Knight landed lightly back on the ground and looked up.
The dragon head listed forward for a moment before separating from the wall completely and plummeting down. "Scatter!" cried Mirage.
The group darted in all directions to avoid the falling object. The dragon head landed with a resounding crash that echoed all around them. When the dust had cleared, they all slowly walked over to it. The lower half of the head was buried in the stone floor, while the glowing eye sockets were staring at them almost eagerly.
Mirage was the first to break the silence. "This is it."
Onyl took one hesitant step towards the left eye socket. She visibly swallowed once. She handed the torch to Argile and reached out with her right hands towards the black glow. The black light instantly snapped out and surrounded her. Onyl's eyes clamped shut, and she went completely stiff. For a brief moment she was surrounded by black flames. Then, suddenly, it was over.
The newest Black Dragon of Althena opened her eyes and whistled. "Now that was a rush." She flexed her hands as if seeing them for the first time. "Go on, Rayn. It's not that bad and definitely worth it."
He nodded once and moved towards the glowing right socket. Same as with Onyl, the blue glow jumped out to surround Rayn. His eyes went wide as wisps of blue power twirled all around his body. When the wisps disappeared, the Blue Dragon fell back on to his rear.
"This is amazing!" he gasped. "I'm seeing memories. Places I never seen and people I've never known." He looked up at the others. "I understand so many of the questions about the world I have always wondered about." He jumped to his feet and literally flipped. "I know why the sky is blue!" he cried in glee. "I know what gravity is! I understand where magic comes from!"
Mirage watched him with and open mouth as the young dragon started dancing around. "And this is supposed to be the dragon I'm connected to?" He looked over at Argile with a pained expression. The Black Knight smiled and shrugged.
Onyl cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, now that this is done can we leave this place?"
Argile led the way out with the torch. Onyl followed him, and Mirage, with a still babbling Rayn in tow, brought up the rear.
Hovering high above the Dragon Ruins, two monstrous forms watched and waited for their prey to emerge. Thiss turned his massive head to look at Vasin. The Blood Dragon was covered in mirror like dark red scales. A pair of black, crescent horns jutted out of his head, and his spiked tail swayed impatiently behind him.
"Are you sure they went into that place ," grumbled Vasin. He shuddered visibly.
"Yesss," hissed Thiss. "Can you not feel the power of that infernal Dragon Tribe all around usss?" Thiss returned his gaze to the Ruins. "Besssidesss, I sssaw them enter thisss place myssself. Are our forcesss in place?"
The Blood Dragon nodded. "Yes. They surround the entrance awaiting our command to attack."
There was movement below, and both Demon Dragons noticed. Both their maws peeled back into snarls. "Dragons of Althena," growled Vasin. With a pair of thunderous roars, both behemoths dove at their enemies.
Onyl's senses started flaring. Her head shot up suddenly looking towards the sky. "On?" said Rayn with a shaking voice. "What is that?"
"Onyl? What's the matter?" asked Argile.
The dragon was ignoring both of them while continuing to scan the sky. Then she spotted two black dots descending at incredible speeds. Her vision blurred for a second, and then Onyl could clearing see the two Demon Dragons. One was unfamiliar, but the other she definitely knew.
"THISS!!!" she cried out in fury.
Black fire suddenly exploded all around her. An unseen wind caused her clothes to whip around and her long, dark hair to stand on end. Instinct and emotion consumed Onyl entirely. Her eyes were now glowing a fierce yellow, and the ebony flames were swirling around her body.
"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" she screamed in rage.
"Onyl!" she dimly heard Argile shouting. "Control yourself!"
She shut out the knight's voice. Nothing mattered except making the Shadow Dragon pay. Onyl could feel her new powers burning to be released. The power of the Black Dragon was seething through her very being. Now that she had the strength, she was going to make that monster pay for all his crimes.
Onyl bent her knees and launched herself into the air. The jump easily cleared her companions. As she flew higher, Onyl dropped her human shape to take on her true form. There was a massive black flash, and the Black Dragon of Althena was filling the sky above the Ruins. Onyl loosed a roar of challenge and soared up towards her hated foe.
"Dammit!" cursed Mirage. "This is just great!"
"Onyl!" shouted Rayn up. "Come back!" he turned to Mirage with fear in his eyes. "Mirage, do something!"
The pirate was about to respond when he noticed movement all around them. There was a black flash as Argile reactivated his Crest. Mirage followed suit and activated his own Crest. "Sorry, kid. Looks like we have our own problems."
All around the three of them were demons of all shapes and sizes. Hulking, bipedal, black scaled monsters started shuffling towards them. Mirage drew his Scimitar with practiced ease. "Rayn," he said calmly. "Can you transform?"
"Y... yeah," he stammered.
"Then transform and go help Onyl," ordered the Blue Knight. "There are two Demon Dragons up there. Onyl's strong, but not experienced enough to deal with two of them by herself. Do you understand?"
"Yes," was all the young dragon said. "What about you two?"
"We can take care of ourselves, Rayn," replied Argile. He was gripping his Axe with both hands in preparation to charge. "Go and help your sister."
Mirage looked away, and focused on the approaching demons. He heard Rayn's feet shuffle followed by a gust of wind as he leapt into the air. The Blue Knight moved gracefully into an attacking posture. "How many do you count?" he asked his friend.
"More than enough to keep us busy," replied Argile. "Ready?" Mirage nodded, and the two Dragon Knights charged their enemies.
Onyl wasted no time in releasing her breath weapon. She opened her maw and loosed a stream of acid between the Demon Dragons. The two monsters banked in opposite directions to avoid the attack. Onyl zoomed past where they had been, barreled rolled to her right, and zeroed in on Thiss. She spotted the Shadow Dragon easily and released another stream of acid in his direction, but he dodged it again. Onyl beat her wings furiously to catch up to her target.
Her world was suddenly jarred by searing pain all along her back. The Black Dragon roared in anguish as the other Demon Dragon landed and drove all his talons into her back. Acting on instinct, Onyl threw her head back. She grimaced when she felt her horns rip into the attacking dragon's neck. There was a second roar, and the other Demon Dragon released her and backed off. Ignoring the pain of her wounds, Onyl broke off pursuit of Thiss by banking left. She increased her altitude until she could see both her opponents.
Thiss had ceased running and was circling around to attack her. The dragon with blood red scales had recovered from her counter attack. He fixed her with his fiery gaze moved to attack from the opposite side of Thiss.
"Maybe this wasn't such a bright idea," she muttered to herself.
Both Demon Dragons were now closing in on her from both sides. Onyl braced herself, when the blood red one was suddenly knocked aside by a blue blur. The beast spun end over end while plummeting towards the ground. Seeing his cohort's condition, Thiss halted his attack and hovered only a couple hundred feet away.
Onyl spared a quick glance to see what had knocked the second Demon Dragon temporarily out of the fight. Her eyes went wide at what she saw. Running just under two hundred feet from head to tail was Rayn in his true form. Light blue fur and deep blue scales covered his body. His yellow membraned wings flapped vigorously to keep him in the air. Her brother's head was quite smaller compared to her own. His maw and snout were small and rounded. A pair of yellow horns rose back away from his head. Rayn flew over to her and waved his rainbow furred tail with excitement.
"Hey, On," he rumbled. "Need a hand?"
"Rayn, what are you doing up here?" she snapped. "It's too dangerous!"
"Ha," he replied. "I'm a Dragon of Althena, now, too. We need to stick together if we are gonna survive."
Onyl gave him another once over. He was at least a third smaller than she was, and she was just about physically equal with the Demon Dragons. The Black Dragon looked away from her brother back to their foes. Thiss was still hovering a few hundred feet away, but now the other Demon Dragon had rejoined him.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice," she relented. "When the fighting starts again, just let your instincts lead you. The memories of past dragons are the only chance we have of surviving this fight."
Rayn swallowed and looked at the Demon Dragons. "Whatever you say, sis. I'm ready." The two Dragons of Althena reared back and launched themselves at the Demon Dragons.
Mirage ducked under claws, dodged razor edged tails, and flipped over snapping maws. Demon corpses dropped all around him, but for every three he killed six more replaced them. A two headed serpent demon lost both its heads from a quick slash, and the Blue Knight darted for the last place he had seen Argile. He soon spotted the Black Knight suffering from the same plight as himself. Argile deflected an attack with his artificial arm and buried his Axe in the chest of a winged fiend.
A hell hound lunged for Argile's back, but Mirage was there to cut it down. Both Dragon Knights went back to back with weapons raised. "How much longer do you think we can last?" Mirage asked his friend.
"As long as we need to," was all he said in response.
"Even when facing certain death, you still won't give a straight answer, Argile," moaned Mirage, although he had a smile on his face. The beasts surrounded them again in preparation to attack. Mirage raised his blood stained sword as his smile turned grim. "Ah well. At least it can't be said we didn't die without a fight."
The demon horde roared as one and swarmed the two Dragon Knights.
Onyl did not like the way the aerial duel was turning out. She and Rayn were now on the run from the two Demon Dragons. Streams of lava and balls of fire streaked past them. "You're the smart one!" shouted Onyl. "Think of something!"
Rayn twisted his long neck over his shoulder to glance at their pursuers. "We need to take out one of them and gang up on the other!"
"Nice in theory!" she replied. "How do you suggest we do this? I don't think they will let us if we just ask!"
The Blue Dragon looked around before responding. "Water." He looked up at her with what could only be a toothy smile. "Follow me! I've got a plan!" He flattened his wings and dove towards the rocky coastline. Onyl followed without hesitation.
The two of them leveled out over the water and away from the cliffs. Onyl looked back to make sure the other two dragons were following. The red scaled one released another stream of lava. The Black Dragon banked left to avoid being hit.
"On!" shouted Rayn. "I'm gonna slow down, but you keep going at full speed!"
"You sure?"
He nodded. "Trust me! Just watch for the opportunity to attack!"
Onyl beat her wings harder and had soon out distanced Rayn. She could feel him building up his power. Althena's Dragon risked a look over her shoulder to see what her brother was doing. Her eyes went wide when she saw a fist of water literally rise up out of the sea, grab the red scaled dragon, and hold him steady. Rayn made a vertical loop back towards the Demon Dragons. Onyl quickly turned and followed.
The Blue Dragon loosed a lightning bolt from his maw at the base of the watery fist holding the Demon Dragon. Electricity cascaded all around the beast. It roared in pain and anger just before dropping into the water and sinking out of sight. Thiss had altered his direction to attack Rayn's exposed right flank; however, Onyl was there to attack his own exposed side.
She roared in rage just before slamming into the Shadow Dragon's left side. Claws tore into his glossy, black scales drawing small rivers of black blood. Onyl didn't even hesitate before clamping onto Thiss's neck with her maw. The Shadow Dragon cried out and started spinning the two of them around in the air. Onyl released her grips and disengaged from her attack just before a bolt of lightning impacted on Thiss's chest. He cried out again and reeled back.
"Does it hurt, Thiss?" asked Onyl with her teeth bared. She opened her maw and loosed a stream of acid aiming for his neck.
Suddenly the dragon became nothing but a collection of shadows that shot across the sky behind Onyl. The shadows reformed into Thiss, and the Demon Dragon loosed a black mist from its mouth at her. Onyl spun away from the breath attack, but her left arm was slightly grazed in the process. It went slightly numb.
Rayn swooped over and hovered next to her while growling at Thiss. "Do you really think you can take both of us on without your buddy, Thiss?" snarled Onyl.
Right on cue, the other Demon Dragon exploded from the water to attack. He body slammed Onyl and sank his jaws into her neck. Too shocked to make a sound, Onyl could only counter by driving her right claw into his side. Rayn came to her aide immediately. His tail shot out, wrapped itself around the beast's neck, and tightened. Onyl felt her foe release her neck. She pulled her claw free and pushed away. That was when she saw Thiss charging Rayn.
"Rayn!" she shouted in warning. "Behind you!"
A wall of water sprang up behind the Blue Dragon at her warning. Thiss could not slow down in time to avoid it. The Shadow Dragon's head was the only thing to pass the liquid wall before his entire body was thrust high into the sky. Onyl turned and started flying back towards the Dragon Ruins.
"Come on, Rayn!" she called to the other dragon. "Let's get the guys and get out of here!" The Blue Dragon tossed the other Demon Dragon at the water wall and followed close behind her.
"On, we need to get away fast!" They flew side by side directly towards the Ruins. "We can hold those two off for a little while, but I don't think we can beat them. We just don't know enough about our new bodies and powers to win."
"Yeah," she agreed. "I just wonder how we can get away with our hides intact."
Mirage and Argile had the entrance to the Ruins at their backs and the horde of demons in front. Both knights were bleeding from multiple wounds and breathing heavily. There was about a twenty foot space between them and the demons.
"This looks like the end, buddy," said Mirage. He was holding a deep gash on his right forearm just above a blue bracer.
"It seems so," admitted Argile. There was blood running down the side of his face, but he didn't seem to notice. "It has been an honor being your friend and brother in arms, Mirage."
Mirage gave him a smirk. "Me too, Argile." Something caught his eye in the sky turning his smirk into a broad grin. "But I think I'm going to change my mind about it being the end."
The Black Knight glanced up and smiled as well. Onyl and Rayn descended on the demons from behind loosing their breath weapons everywhere. Onyl was using her power over the earth to crush and swallow up the monsters as well. Using the distraction of the two dragons, Mirage and Argile charged forward weapons first. The Dragon Knights took their foes completely by surprise leveling them by scores. Onyl and Rayn had ceased using their breath weapons and magics and were simply raking the demons with their claws.
The demons were now scattering in all directions in an attempt to retreat. Mirage and Argile started backing up to the Ruins with the retreat of the horde. Onyl and Rayn landed on the rock path before the Ruins waiting for the two knights.
"Get on!" shouted Onyl. "We don't have much time!"
A pair of angry roars filled the air to back up her statement. Mirage looked past the two dragons to see Scorn and Vasin flying towards them. The two Dragon Knights dashed for their respective dragon and were quick to climb on to their backs.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" shouted Mirage.
The dragons launched themselves into the air. "Where to?" asked Rayn. "I don't think we can out run those two."
Mirage glanced over his shoulder at the quickly gaining Demon Dragons. Where could they go? Onyl and Rayn did not know how to teleport, and, as Rayn had said, there was little chance of out running Thiss and Vasin. The Blue Knight's gaze suddenly fell on the city atop the Dragon Ruins. That's when it hit him.
"Head for the city down there!" he shouted to the dragons. "There might be a way out in there!"
"What if there isn't?" said Onyl. "We'll be trapped!"
"It's all right, Onyl," said Argile in an assuring tone. "I think I know what Mirage has in mind."
Without further argument, the two Dragons of Althena headed for the city atop the Ruins. They landed right in the city's center. Onyl and Rayn wasted no time in transforming back to their human forms. Mirage noted blood stains seeping through Onyl's cloths. Argile tried to help her, but she waved him off saying she would be all right for now.
Mirage quickly scanned the toppled buildings and broken roads for one thing in particular. He grinned when he spotted the circle of stone arches not thirty yards from their position. "Come on," he ordered with a wave of his left hand while running for them.
The rest of the group followed after him. The Blue Knight stopped in front of a vertical slab covered in symbols. He sheathed his Scimitar and started to look at all the symbols intently.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" asked Onyl.
Mirage spoke without turning around. "Yeah, yeah. Connery and I came back here late last year on the Destiny ..."
"Looking for leftover treasure?" finished Argile.
"And to look this thing over for Ruby," finished Mirage after clearing his throat. "She figured out that this thing was some sort of transportation device, and that it had some sort of effect on the Time Runes when we used them. According to what Connery could figure out, this slab is the control." He started pressing a few of the symbols. "I think I remember a few of the ones he was able to translate."
Everyone was forced to take cover when Thiss and Vasin strafed the area with their breath weapons. Mirage scrambled back to the slab and continued to press symbols. "I need a couple more minutes!" he told the others.
Onyl straightened. "I can take care of them."
"Are you sure, Onyl?" asked Argile.
She gave the Black Knight a smirk. "Distract those two for just a few seconds." She looked over to her brother. "Rayn, you stay here just in case."
"In case what?" he questioned.
She started running for some of the ruined buildings. "In case this doesn't work."
Onyl felt Argile tap into the power of his Crest to attack the strafing Demon Dragons. She darted through rubble filled streets until she was at least a couple hundred yards from the city's center. Argile's Axe could be seen as a small ball of black fire launching up at the dragons. Rayn was adding his own newly learned magic to the fight. Ice lances were shooting up at the demons from the Blue's outstretched hands. Thiss and the one called Vasin were too busy fighting with Black Knight and Blue Dragon to notice her missing.
She took a deep breath and winced slightly. Her back and neck stung and were still bleeding slightly, but Onyl did her best to block out the pain. She released the breath and launched herself high into the air. There was a flash of black fire around her, and the Black Dragon of Althena soared right for the Demon Dragons. Vasin was closest and felt her wrath first. Acid spewed from her maw and splashed him in the face.
The Demon Dragon lurched forward, and Onyl continued her attack. She grabbed his tall in passing. Pulling the Blood Dragon along with her, Onyl dove at the cliffs surrounding the Dragon Ruins. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she threw Vasin right into the nearest cliff. As soon as he impacted on the rocky surface, Onyl used her connection with the earth to encase him in the very rock itself. The rocks themselves pulled Vasin into their depths until he was gone from sight.
Onyl quickly reversed her direction back to the city. She saw that Rayn had transformed as well, and he was battling Thiss in the air above the city. Rayn dropped below Thiss's last attack just as Onyl crashed into the Shadow Dragon from behind. The demon went tumbling into several of the ruined buildings. Feeling completely drained of energy, Onyl was barely able to land and transform back to her human form. Rayn and Argile were at her sides instantly to help her stand.
"You were very brave, Onyl," said Argile with a smile. "For one who has just been thrust into destiny, you are handling it quite well."
Onyl could only chuckle in response. The two of them helped her over to where Mirage was still working with that slab. They stopped just as the Blue Knight touched a blue hued sphere. There was a great flash inside the center of the circle of stone arches. When her vision cleared, Onyl could see a yellow circle there.
"Let's hurry and go," urged Mirage.
"Do you know where that thing will take us?" asked Rayn.
Mirage gave them all a smooth smile. "Not really," he said simply. "All I do know is that it'll take us to the Blue Star."